Arrangement for directing the defrost water in refrigerators

ABSTRACT

An arrangement for directing the defrost water in refrigerators, comprising a single cabinet ( 10 ), provided with internal lateral walls ( 11 ), in which interior is superiorly mounted an evaporator ( 20 ) positioned immediately above a tray ( 40 ) for collecting defrost water, comprising at least one deflecting chute ( 15 ) provided on each of the internal lateral walls ( 11 ) of the cabinet ( 10 ), in a downwardly backwardly inclined arrangement above the mounting plane of the tray ( 40 ), and having an upper end projecting beyond the vertical projection of the contour of the evaporator ( 20 ), and a lower end that is back spaced in relation to the vertical projection of the front edge of the tray ( 40 ).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention refers to an arrangement for directing the water produced by defrost or condensation, to be applied in refrigerators having a single cabinet closed by only one front door and which carries, internally and superiorly, an evaporator with a lateral profile of any general shape provided above a tray for collecting the defrost water. cl PRIOR ART

[0002] During the automatic, semi-automatic, or manual operations of defrosting a refrigerator of the type mentioned above, water drops and streamlets are formed in the regions of the internal lateral walls of the cabinet that are located adjacent to the evaporator.

[0003] Such drops and streamlets are also formed in the internal lateral walls of the cabinet, between the door and the evaporator, by condensation of the humidity of the external air that infiltrates to the interior of the refrigerator by the region of the door gasket.

[0004] These water drops and streamlets from defrost or condensation tend to flow down gravitationally and slowly along the internal lateral walls of the cabinet, and are collected in the interior of the tray or drawer which collects the defrost water and which is provided immediately below the evaporator.

[0005] While the collecting tray is dimensioned and positioned to collect all the defrost water coming from the evaporator, the water drops and streamlets, which are formed on the internal lateral walls of the cabinet in the front region of the evaporator, usually flow down gravitationally along said internal lateral walls, following backwardly inclined trajectories toward the collecting tray, where they are adequately collected, as well as forwardly inclined trajectories outside of the front edge of the collecting tray, flowing down toward the bottom of the cabinet, where they tend to form a small puddle. This non-vertical trajectory of the drops and streamlets results from the surface tension of the water and from the microscopic irregularities of the inner surface of the cabinet.

[0006] The accumulation of water resulting from defrost or condensation in places not foreseen in the operational design of the refrigerator is highly undesirable, particularly in cases in which the defrost is automatically processed.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Due to the problem mentioned above, it is the object of the present invention to provide an arrangement for directing the defrost water in refrigerators of the type considered herein, presenting a simple construction and without requiring alterations in the design, or even in the dimension of the component parts of the refrigeration appliance, and which further guarantees the conduction, to the collecting tray, of the water drops and streamlets formed on the internal lateral walls of the cabinet, in the front region of the evaporator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The above-mentioned object is obtained by providing a constructive arrangement to be applied to refrigerators, with a single cabinet and provided with an upper internal evaporator disposed immediately above a defrost water collecting tray.

[0009] According to the invention, the present arrangement comprises at least one deflecting chute, provided on each of the two internal lateral walls of the cabinet, and which is downwardly backwardly positioned above the mounting plane of the collecting tray, and having an upper end, projecting beyond the vertical projection of the contour of the evaporator, and a lower end, which is back spaced in relation to the front edge of the collecting tray.

[0010] With the above constructive arrangement, any water drop or streamlet presenting a forwardly inclined trajectory along the internal lateral walls of the cabinet and coming from the front region of the evaporator will meet the deflecting chute, which will conduct said drop or streamlet by gravity, downwardly and backwardly, to the inside of the collecting tray.

[0011] The deflecting chutes, which can be provided in any number and in the form of recessed grooves, or protruding ribs, assure that all the water from defrost or condensation flowing down by the internal lateral walls of the cabinet will be collected by the collecting tray.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The invention will be described below, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

[0013]FIG. 1 is a front-lateral perspective view of a refrigerator cabinet without the front door, and provided with the arrangement for directing the defrost water of the present invention;

[0014]FIG. 2 is a partial vertical sectional view of the cabined illustrated in FIG. 1; and

[0015]FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the region of the arrangement illustrated in the previous figures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT

[0016] As illustrated, the present arrangement is applied to a refrigerator comprising a single cabinet 10, provided with internal lateral walls 11 and inside which is superiorly mounted an evaporator 20, generally of the plate type incorporating the refrigerant fluid tubes and presenting a “C” shaped lateral profile, with an upper wall 21 and a lower wall 22 that are interconnected by a rear wall 23.

[0017] The cabinet 10 further receives, internally, a tray 40 for collecting defrost water, provided immediately below the evaporator 20, and having its front edge 42 projecting slightly beyond the vertical projection of the front edges of the upper wall 21 and the lower wall 22 of the evaporator 20.

[0018] According to the present invention, the arrangement for directing the defrost water comprises at least one deflecting chute 15, which is provided on each of the internal lateral walls 11 of the cabinet 10 in a downwardly backwardly inclined arrangement above the mounting plane of the tray 40, and having an upper end projecting beyond the vertical projection of the contour of the evaporator 20, and a lower end that is back spaced in relation to the vertical projection of the front edge of the tray 40.

[0019] As illustrated, each internal lateral wall 11 of the cabinet 10 may be provided with a set of deflecting chutes 15, which may be disposed parallel and slightly spaced from each other, with some of them having the upper end disposed inside the vertical projection of the contour of the evaporator 20. Thus, any water drop or streamlet coming from the region of the evaporator 20, and tending to flow forwardly and outwardly from the tray 40 will be collected by one of the deflecting chutes 15 and directed to the inside of the tray 40.

[0020] The deflecting chutes 15 may be formed in different manners, as protruding parts that are affixed or incorporated, as a single piece, to the internal lateral walls 11 of the cabinet 10, or as parts defined by recessed grooves that are molded in the lateral walls 11 themselves, as illustrated in the appended drawings. Regardless of the form in which they are presented, the deflecting chutes 15 should present a profile and an inclination that allow the gravitational flow of the drops and streamlets along the trajectory defined by the deflecting chute 15, toward the tray 40. 

1. An arrangement for directing the defrost water in refrigerators, comprising a single cabinet (10) provided with internal lateral walls (11) and in which is superiorly mounted an evaporator (20) positioned immediately above a tray (40) for collecting defrost water, characterized in that at least one deflecting chute (15) is provided on each of the internal lateral walls (11) of the cabinet (10), in a downwardly backwardly inclined arrangement above the mounting plane of the tray (40), and having an upper end projecting beyond the vertical projection of the contour of the evaporator (20), and a lower end that is back spaced in relation to the vertical projection of the front edge of the tray (40).
 2. The arrangement as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that each internal lateral wall (11) of the cabinet (10) is provided with a plurality of deflecting chutes (15), some of them having the upper end disposed inside the vertical projection of the contour of the evaporator (20).
 3. The arrangement as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that each deflecting chute (15) takes the form of a recessed groove that is molded in the respective internal lateral wall (11) of the cabinet (10). 